


Linear Momentum

by Indices



Category: SCP Foundation
Genre: Fictional Religion & Theology, Friendship/Love, M/M, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 21:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20316487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indices/pseuds/Indices
Summary: In his youth on Rhodes he used to dive into the sea from the rocky cliffs above.





	Linear Momentum

In his youth on Rhodes he used to dive into the sea from the rocky cliffs above. His friends would stare wide-eyed, silently agape or cheering him on, because he was the only one who never let himself falter. It wasn't bravery so much as faith. He simply had to wipe clean his mind and take the plunge, trusting in the old and foaming sea to catch him.

And so it did, every time.

Derdekeas cannot do this anymore, of course, lest the water seep into the mechanical workings of his body and destroy them from the inside. No more than he could return to the Mekhanites. He doesn't regret either of those, not really—or at least regrets them less than he expected. Oh, certainly, he used to lay awake imagining the accusations of heresy, the _how could you abandon your empire at its moment of need_ and _how dare you betray your goddess_. But the empire was falling even as they had vanquished the Sarkics, and still he has not stopped believing in MEKHANE.

So believing is not the problem. It never has been, for him. The problem is of whether he can reconcile this with that peculiar pang of not-quite pain that ticks in his heart when the Klavigar's stitched lips turn upward, wryly amused, at something that he's said.

And it isn't Nadox, not entirely. If Derdekeas still believed the man an abomination then he wouldn't be following him. But emotions are another matter. It would be foolish to gamble his devotion to MEKHANE on such fickle things, even should he work towards the defeat of Her foes in a way somewhat different from before. And more than that. Suppose that Derdekeas loses himself to this new sect, and forgets his faith. Suppose that Nadox wishes to maintain a distance.

Nadox would not probe for the thoughts that he chooses not to disclose, so he guards these zealously, clutching them close to his chest.

_"What had it been like, growing up by the sea?"_ asks the Klavigar one night, as they sit in one of the tents of their encampment. Briefly, Derdekeas wonders if he had ever seen it. But he must have, during the Sarkic conquests, or else when he was spreading the word of Ion.

He has not thought of childhood in a long time. Since the beginning of his service, even. There was simply no reason to. His family had been Judaic in origin, but the Mekhanite Empire had been on the ascendant when they settled in Greece, and so he grew up to be a Legate-Faithful of MEKHANE. Now, he thinks back to those days, combing his memories for the sense of loss that should surface.

"It was..." What could one say, to a question like that? Watery? Salty? "Sunny. You know what the weather is like, in those parts."

_"Perhaps. But I meant to ask what it was like for you, specifically."_

Derdekeas thinks of high cliffs, and the waves crashing beneath. Drowning out their shrieks of laughter.

"Foolhardy. But I was... happy, then. I think."

Nadox smiles again, that same one. Crooked but oddly gentle, despite it all. And for a moment Derdekeas thinks that this can be reconciled, that they can go on like this, until the very seas swallow up the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by the wonderful [story](http://www.scp-wiki.net/nadox-and-the-mekhanite) by UraniumEmpire and Metaphysician on the SCP Foundation website, as well as the characters and lore developed by Metaphysician.
> 
> Derdekeas' family being Jewish is based on the origin of his name, which is apparently from the Paraphrase of Shem, an apocryphal Gnostic writing. Since Gnosticism originated in large part from Hellenistic Judaism, I thought that might be a possible explanation. This might conflict a bit with the timeline, since the first records of a Jewish diaspora in Greece are fairly well after the Mekhanite Empire/Bronze Age collapse, but it was the most plausible thing I could think of.
> 
> Disclaimer: the author does not encourage jumping from high cliffs into bodies of water! From a certain height, it can have the same effect as landing on cement. Please don’t try this.


End file.
